1940 Ford Truck - Booze Fighter

Adventure is something that comes natural to some. The sheer excitement of not knowing what comes next or how things are going to turn out is what makes some thrive. For Jerry Booze, of Fullerton, California, adventure is something that has always intrigued him. So much so, that back in the '70s he bought a sailboat, although he had never sailed before, and headed out on a year-long trip of solitary adventure on the high seas of the Pacific Rim. Yes, Jerry is one who's always looking for the next experience.

Since Jerry Booze can remember he has been into hot rods and custom cars, and he has owned just shy of 20. Being that each vehicle is an adventure of its own, he has always been one to look for the next project. When most reach the age of retirement, they slide behind the wheels of Buick Le Sabres and the like as their daily drivers. However, the 67-year-old Booze couldn't fall victim to a post-adolescent front wheel drive people mover, instead he decided to pick up a '40 Ford truck as his daily driver. With a straight-axle none the less! An adventure no doubt.

Jerry had always intended for the '40 to be his daily driver, and because of that he needed a setup that would allow for dependable, safe and somewhat comfortable driving. He enlisted Enzed Inc., of Brea, California, to work over the frontend. Between the two they decided to split the wishbones with a Total Cost Involved Engineering kit and install a drop axle. To allow ample and sufficient suspension travel a set of Total Cost Involved shocks were installed up front. To deal with Los Angeles's stop-and-go driving style a set of GM 11-inch disc brakes and a '72 Vega steering box were installed as well. In the rear, the entire factory setup was tossed. In its place is a new parallel leaf-spring setup from Total Cost Involved. When Jerry originally bought the truck it had a hopped up flathead in it. In fact, one of the key reasons for splitting the wishbones was because Jerry installed a five-speed tranny behind the Ford powerplant as soon as he got the truck. However, after a few blown motors Jerry was tired of ponying up the dough to rebuild another flathead. On top of that, you can only handle so many hours behind the wheel of an Enterprise rent-a-car when your daily driver is down and out! To solve the problem a street friendly Chevy 350 crate motor was installed. The motor is equipped with an Edelbrock intake manifold, along with an Edelbrock 600-cfm carburetor, for a little more punch. Adding some spit shine to the motor is a set of Offenhauser finned aluminum valve covers and a billet air cleaner. When the flathead went, so did the five-speed. Therefore a Turbo 350 with a Lokar shifter and B&M trans cooler was installed.

When Jerry bought the truck it screamed '40 Ford, which was what he wanted, but not exactly how he wanted it. Long story short, changes were in order, and Mr. D's was the firm summoned to make it happen. First up, taillights. Jerry wanted to install a pair of frenched '49 Ford taillights in the rear fenders, only he wanted these taillights to sit horizontal, as opposed to vertical. From there the tailgate was re-skinned with a piece of 16 gauge sheetmetal that received a trip on Sir Michael's louver punch. Instead of leaving the bedsides be, Jerry had little bullets welded to the ends of the bedrails for a unique look. The truck was then shaved clean of all emblems, trim, door handles, and the like. To match the rear, the hood also received louvers. Another custom "Jerry touch" is the frenched and sunken antenna residing in the right-front fender. Since Jerry first purchased the truck, at the turn of the millennium, it has been several colors; the latest is Jerry's favorite. Since he was a fourth grader gawking over custom cars and hot rods, he had always carried the image of '50 Oldsmobile Crest Blue in his mind, therefore he had Mr. D's shoot the truck in the subtle ostentatious hue. Once painted there was still something missing, pinstriping. Jerry had Kim Dedic apply his touch to just about every panel on the truck, which really set things off. The final touch was a set of 15-inch Cragar Smoothies.

Inside the cab is just as eye-catching. Jerry used a set of '66 Mustang bucket seats as the center of the interior. From there the entire interior was recovered in blue and white vinyl by Henry's Upholstery in La Habra, California. Gracing the dash of the '41 is an engine-turned inset that houses a combination of Classic Instrument and VDO gauges. In place of the factory column is a Limeworks column and Banjo steering wheel. The truck was defiantly a new adventure for Jerry, and every day he leaves the house piloting the blue Booze cruiser is just another journey on a never ending adventure.